The Supreme Court of the United States gives and takes away. As a result of Monday’s announcement that the United States Department of Justice has decided to revisit the notion that online gambling was never intended to be legalized when the Wire Act was dissected in 2011, this, or at least something along these lines, is currently circulating in the minds of many people. At the time, it was determined that only sports wagering was prohibited under the 50-year-old Act.
In the interim, sports wagering became officially legalized in 2017 when the same court ruled against PASPA. It appears that the topic is once again in the public eye, but what about online lotteries and online games of chance?
Destruction of Investor Confidence
Obviously, the news has had a very unsettling effect on the industry’s many stakeholders, and the value of shares of various wagering and entertainment companies plummeted to unexpectedly low levels on Tuesday. Widespread speculation and unpredictability have a negative impact on the industry, but the word “detrimental” falls short.
Aaron Swerdlow, an attorney affiliated with the prestigious Los Angeles law firm Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen and Shapiro LLP, predicts that if the court goes ahead with what it appears to be planning to do, which is to once again challenge antiquated interpretations of antiquated laws, investments will likely take a significant hit and the online gambling industry’s growth will be severely constrained.
Swerdlow stated that numerous legal obstacles will need to be overcome in the foreseeable future.
Uncertain Times to Come
But what prompted the abrupt unearthing of old cows? The Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Criminal Justice delivered a 23-page commentary to the Department of Criminal Justice towards the end of the previous year. The report’s publication date is November 2, but its existence was not made public until Monday.
The report challenges the current interpretation of the law, among other things. If the United States Supreme Court rules in favor of the report’s assertions, the online casino industry is in for rough seas. The court’s ultimate decision on the matter will impact the future of online wagering in the United States as well as State-run Lotteries that began operations after the 2011 opinion that had initially challenged the Wire Act’s constitutionality was published.